Tobacco is the main ingredient in a cigarette and it provides the nicotine that causes addiction. A cigarette also contains about 4,000 other chemicals and particles, of which more than 40 are capable of causing cancer, according to the American...
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of disability. Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for stroke along with other factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and a family history of stroke....
The Surgeon General has called smoking "the single greatest avoidable cause of disease and death." Smoking damages multiple organ systems and some of the damage is irreversible. Smokers also are plagued by chronic cough, discolorations of the...
Smoking causes five million deaths a year worldwide. This makes tobacco responsible for 1 in 10 deaths. The World Health Organization says smoking is the world's second biggest killer. If you smoke, you could contract several killer diseases,...
A person experiences a stroke when oxygen-filled blood cannot get to the brain. If the blood vessel is blocked because of a blood clot, it is called an ischemic stroke, and if the blood flow is stopped because of a rupture in the blood vessel, it...
Smoking is an addictive habit where the user inhales tobacco, which contains the drug nicotine. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that nicotine reaches the brain within eight seconds of smoke inhalation. Smoking can have damaging...
If you are a smoker, you have probably tried to quit before. The American Cancer Society links smoking to cancer, lung disease, strokes and even blindness. According to BookofOdds.com, your chances of quitting are only one in 3.45. To increase...
A stroke is a condition where brain cells are deprived of oxygen-carrying blood and die. Strokes often result in brain damage, paralysis, pain, and the loss of the ability to speak and swallow. Strokes can be fatal. They are often caused by...
Smoking cigarettes gets blamed for many negative things, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, confirms that it is dangerous. It kills more people every year than illegal drug use, alcohol use, murders, suicides, car...
According to the Mayo Clinic, dementia is a set of symptoms caused by conditions or changes in the brain that affect at least two brain functions severely enough to interfere with daily functioning. Symptoms may include memory loss, difficulty...
Blood clots cause heart attacks and strokes. About every 40 seconds someone in the United States suffers a stroke, and every 25 seconds someone suffers a cardiac event, according to the 2011 heart disease and stroke statistics published by...
Smoking is a regular pastime for many Americans. As of 2008, close to 25 million men and 21 million women light up yearly, reports the American Heart Association. The use of tobacco products can easily become an addicting habit, but the effects of...
It is a known fact that smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema and low birth weight. However, other detrimental health affects of smoking, such as decreased circulation, high blood pressure and strokes, while not as well known, are just as deadly.
The median adult smoking rate in the United States as of 2008 was 18.4 percent, reports the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC. Smoking can cause a variety of serious health problems and even causes nearly one out of five deaths in the United...
Poor circulation can be caused by peripheral artery disease, diabetes, smoking, stroke and other health factors. According to the American Diabetes Association, low blood flow can affect your immune system, inhibit healing and cause sore feet. You...
The smoking addiction is a tough one to break--particularly for people who started at a young age and have done it for years. Enough smokers have found a way to break the habit and deal with the issues of giving up their addiction to know it can...
Smoking is an addiction that affects millions of people. It is very important to teach children the dangers of smoking, and for non-smoking adults to not start smoking. While it is difficult to quit smoking, doing so can add years to your life if...
People who smoke should know about every aspect of how smoking harms their bodies. Most people understand the link between smoking and illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and strokes. However, smoking also damages your health by lowering the...
Ischemic stroke is an interruption of blood supply to the brain cells. When these cells are without oxygen for too long, they begin to die, which can cause lasting effects such as difficulty speaking, partial paralysis and difficulty walking....
Smokers made up 20.6 percent of the population as of 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This breaks down to about 46 million people who expose themselves to the dangers of cigarette smoking. They make...
Cigarette smoking is the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year, more than 440,000 people die of diseases that are related to tobacco use. To put this number in perspective, according to the American Cancer Society,...
People from all walks of life and of all ages smoke cigarettes. Many reports have been issued regarding the dangers of smoking cigarettes. According to the American Cancer Society, almost one in five deaths in the United States is caused by...
Approximately 26.2 million men and 20.9 million women are smokers (2006), according to the American Heart Association (AHA). The habit is not only expensive; it is dangerous to your health. Smokers have increased risks of heart attacks and...
Think of your arteries as the freeway system that leads away from the big city. When your arteries clog up, nutrients and oxygen in your blood can't get to your cells. Unhealthy arteries lead to chronic heart conditions, heart attacks, strokes and...
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a disorder of the cardiovascular, or heart and blood vessel system, that can cause serious affects on the body. The Cleveland Clinic notes that high blood pressure is often referred as a silent disease...
High cholesterol levels increase your risk for developing cardiovascular disease. If you take oral contraceptives for birth control, you face a slight risk of developing blood clots that could cause heart attacks or strokes. Other factors, such as...
Stroke is a disease that affects the vessels supplying blood to the brain, according to the American Heart Association. Oxygen deprivation because of interrupted or reduced blood supply to the brain causes a stroke. A stroke can also form from too...
Each year, 178,000 women in the U.S. die from cigarette smoking. On average, each female smoker loses 14.5 years of her life, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Twenty one million women, or 18.5 percent, continue to smoke despite...
According to the American Stroke Association, more than 50 million people in the United States are smokers. Those who smoke generally develop a nicotine addiction, making it difficult to stop smoking. In recent years, a number of products have...
Smoking can cause blood clots, which over time can induce a stroke. Learn some tips for preventing and treating strokes in this medical video.
